Department of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Department of Physiological Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Exerc Immunol Rev. 2015;21:26-41.
Epigenetics is the study of mitotically or meiotically heritable phenotypes that occur as a result of modifications to DNA, thereby regulating gene expression independently of changes in base sequence due to manipulation of the chromatin structure. These modifications occur through a variety of mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, post-translational histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, and can cause transcriptional suppression or activation depending on the location within the gene. Environmental stimuli, such as diet and exercise, are thought to be able to regulate these mechanisms, with inflammation as a probable contributory factor. Research into these areas is still in its infancy however. This review will focus on DNA methylation in the context of inflammation (both pro- and anti-inflammatory processes) and exercise. The complexity and relative shortcomings of some existing techniques for studying epigenetics will be highlighted, and recommendations for future study approaches made.
表观遗传学是研究有丝分裂或减数分裂可遗传表型的学科，这些表型是由于 DNA 的修饰而产生的，从而独立于由于染色质结构的操纵而导致的碱基序列变化来调节基因表达。这些修饰通过多种机制发生，例如 DNA 甲基化、组蛋白翻译后修饰和非编码 RNA，并且可以根据基因内的位置引起转录抑制或激活。环境刺激，如饮食和运动，被认为能够调节这些机制，炎症是一个可能的促成因素。然而，这些领域的研究仍处于起步阶段。本综述将重点讨论炎症（包括促炎和抗炎过程）和运动背景下的 DNA 甲基化。将突出强调一些现有研究表观遗传学技术的复杂性和相对不足，并为未来的研究方法提出建议。
